AnonymousBy an edhat reader
Let’s Fix This!
You’ve probably heard that no notifications were sent out to people living in the area near the Loma Fire on May 20. We get text messages about missing children, red flag warnings, etc., so why not when our lives are at stake? What will happen the next time there is a big fire in Santa Barbara? Fires can happen anywhere at any time. Your neighborhood could be next.
The Santa Barbara City Council meets Tuesday afternoon, May 25. You can send them an email asking that the notification system for fires be improved. It’s just the beginning of an extra dry summer. Let’s have some notifications about large fires sent out to nearby residents when, not if, the next one occurs.
Here’s the email address to send comments to: Clerk@SantaBarbaraCA.gov
Text!? Relocating the homeless from encampments to your, or a friends, neighborhood is on the agenda. Your worry, while valid, takes a back seat to the City clearing the encampments and then turning a piece of City or County property into a mega homeless encampment (think tent city) is what’s on the agenda. The Carrillo Castillo Commuter Parking Lot is the #1 location on the list that the City wants turned into the City’s 1st mega homeless encampment.
Believe me, I get your worry about receiving a text message during an emergency, but you need to complain to the Board of Supervisors who oversees the County Sheriff. The County Sheriff actually runs the Emergency Alert System, not the City.
As for the commuter parking lot, this isn’t the only location residents need to worry about, but it is one that residents successfully fought a few years ago. – It was the proposed location of “Tiny Homes for the Homeless.” – That said, the new proposal is to clear encampments due to the fire risks and then set up this location as a mega homeless encounterment which is far different that what was proposed a few years ago and it poses greater risks to the neighborhood. The City will say it is “temporary,” but don’t hold your breath on that.
The City will need multiple locations, but this is going to be the largest. So, If you’re worried about your neighborhood or a City park being turned into a mega homeless encampment you need to be at tomorrow’s meeting (virtually of course) or you need to send an email to Clerk@SantaBarbaraCA.Gov & SBCityCouncil@SantaBarbaraCA.Gov.
Let’s advocate for the homeless to be housed at these mega encampments and facilities:
1) City Hall’s parking lot,
2) The County Public Health Department (the homeless can have their medical and mental health needs met),
3) The City owned restaurant by the airport (the former Elephant Bar), and
4) The Country owned Veterans building on Cabrillo St.
If you think these are better ideas than using the Carrillo Castillo Commuter Parking Lot for the City’s mega homeless encampment then send the City Council an email ASAP: Clerk@SantaBarbaraCA.gov & SBCityCouncil@SantaBarbaraCA.Gov.